When someone says they want to set up an e-commerce site, what
exactly do they mean? A basic e-commerce site-a site where commerce
is transacted-consists of the following:

The catalog. Where product images or photos are featured
along with a description, item number and price. When services are
involved instead of products, then the catalog would be the listing
of services.

The shopping cart. The behind-the-scenes technology that
allows shoppers to select an item, specify its number, and return
to see what's in their shopping cart at any time to add or
modify.

The checkout system. The technology that's activated
once a shopper decides to finalize his or her purchase or
"check out." This system, in its most basic form, tallies
tax, adds shipping, gives a total cost and processes the shipping
and delivery of the items or fulfillment of the services. That
process could simply mean e-mailing or faxing you the details for
you to fulfill the order or sending the details to your factory or
fulfillment house.

That's all there is to a basic e-commerce site!

Aliza Sherman is an entrepreneur and author of Cybergrrl:
A Woman's Guide to the World Wide Web (Ballantine Books).
She is currently working on her next book and new company.